Monday morning quarterbacking: Syracuse 24, NC State 9

NC State football went to Syracuse banged up, and after 60 minutes of football left even more shorthanded during a 24-9 loss. As a result, the Wolfpack took a steep fall in the top 25 polls, dropping to No. 23.

The Wolfpacker takes a final look at the contest with some Monday morning quarterbacking:

Key Moment Of The Game

Bluntly, NC State was fortunate to have been in the game at halftime, trailing 10-3. A pair of red zone interceptions by the defense, one in the end zone and the other at the NC State 15, helped keep the Wolfpack in striking distance.

Coming out of the intermission, NC State looked to take advantage, marching down the field with a pair of third-down conversions along the way to reach the Syracuse 20. On first down, senior quarterback Jack Chambers swung a quick pass to super senior receiver Thayer Thomas for 8 yards. That’s when the drive went downhill.

Super senior center Grant Gibson and Chambers were not on the same page for the shotgun snap, and the ball went through Chambers’ hands resulting in a 12-yard loss. Then a false start backed the Pack up 5 yards further. The result was a third and 19 from the 29.

NC State ultimately closed the gap to 10-6 with a 42-yard field goal from super senior Christopher Dunn with 7:07 left in the third quarter.

The long opening drive may have presented an opportunity for the apparent game plan to shorten the contest and wear out Syracuse. On the ensuing Orange drive, Syracuse faced a third and 7 at the 25-yard line. Pressure got to SU quarterback Garrett Shrader, but he managed to escape and flick the football to running back Sean Tucker, who won the race to the corner to pick up 8 yards and a first down.

Later in that drive, Syracuse converted a fourth and 1 at the NC State 19, and two plays later scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Oronde Gadsden II with 1:28 left in the third quarter.

NC State traded a field goal for a touchdown, losing ground on the scoreboard and time to catch up.

Three Things That Worked For NC State Football

1. Making clutch defensive first-half plays: The interceptions from super senior safety Tanner Ingle in the end zone and third-year sophomore cornerback Aydan White at the NC State 15, as noted earlier, kept the Wolfpack in the game in the first half.

If NC State had won, those would have been the type of plays required to pull out the win.

2. Kicking field goals: They were not as preferable as touchdowns, but NC State was 3-for-3 on field goals.

3. Controlling possession: The game plan was clearly focused on shortening the contest, and NC State did do that. The Pack had a whopping 35:06 to 24:54 advantage in time of possession.

Three Areas Where NC State Football Struggled

1. Staying focused: All three phases of the game plus coaching had too many mental mistakes. Twice kickoffs went out of bounds. There was the bad snap on offense and multiple false start penalties. The defense overran ball carriers and lost receivers, especially Gadsden, in coverage.

And the coaches twice had to use timeouts on the same possession to avoid delay of game penalties in the fourth quarter when NC State was driving and trailing 17-6. With the pace the Pack was utilizing, having to kick a field goal to end that possession meant with only one timeout left and less than 10 minutes left, realistically the best NC State could hope for was overtime.

2. First-half offense: Whether the fault is with the game-planning or the execution or perhaps most likely both, the reality is that NC State’s offense was inept in the first half. The Pack had a mere 87 yards and was averaging 3.2 yards per play at the break.

Four of the first 5 drives of the half were three-and-outs.

3. Containing the Syracuse big three on offense: The Orange attack is fueled heavily by Shrader, Tucker and Gadsden. Yet, NC State failed to contain any one of those three.

Shrader completed 16 of 25 passes for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns while rushing 16 times for 82 yards. Tucker ran 14 times for 98 yards and a score. He also caught 4 passes for 14 yards. Gadsden had 8 receptions for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns.

That trio accounted for every touchdown and rushing yard Syracuse had against NC State, and all but 4 receptions for 55 yards.

Position-By-Position Battles

NC State football’s offensive line vs. Syracuse’s defensive front

The Wolfpack lost this battle here, which was another aspect of the game that did not go well. Syracuse had 4 sacks and 7 tackles for losses. Not a single Pack ball carrier averaged 4.0 yards or better carrying the football.

NC State football’s defensive front vs. Syracuse’s offensive line

NC State did not get a single sack and only 3 tackles for loss, one of which came on the perimeter with a pass. The Pack lost the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football.

NC State football’s wide receivers vs. Syracuse’s secondary

This was not a win for the Pack, but the receivers did get more involved with 10 catches for 96 yards, which is an improvement for their output. However, the lack of explosiveness in the passing game continues to be an alarmingly significant issue.

NC State football’s secondary vs. Syracuse’s wide receivers

Against anybody but Gadsden, the secondary won. Gadsden however single-handedly won this matchup for Syracuse.

Quarterbacks

Chambers, especially in the second half, did some admirable things in his first start for NC State, but Shrader was the best quarterback on the field.

Running backs

NC State fourth-year junior Jordan Houston did what he could, rushing 12 times for 44 yards and catching 3 passes for 29 yards, but Tucker was clearly the best running back in the JMA Dome.

Tight ends/fullbacks

This was one area where NC State did get more production. Fourth-year redshirt sophomore Christopher Toudle and redshirt freshman Cedric Seabrough combined to catch 4 passes for 36 yards.

Special teams

Neither team won or lost the game with special teams, but Syracuse gets the edge due to a pair of kickoffs out of bounds by NC State’s Collin Smith.